Finding an apartment & teaching in BKK

[stogie bear]

Sorry SB, but there are International Schools that pay 30,000 to 40,000 US dollars a month...

No there aren't.

It's possible that you can earn up to around 70 to 80 thousand baht per month if you are well qualified. Occasionally more if you have been hired from abroad.

Korea is NOT Thailand!

[Guest]

Also a friend works at the American International School in Yangong she went from 35,000 a year to over 40,000 when she got her masters degree.

So you can expect to earn a bit more money if you have a masters? or is this just in Korea?

Does the MA have to be in teaching?

[stogie bear]

Any degree in any subject. If you demand more money for an MA you'll lose the job to someone who'll work for less! They aren't interested in what your degree is in, or what kind it is - only that it's not a fake and you qualify for a teachers license and a work permit.

[moe666]

Sorry guys wrote that after a midnight shift and about to nod off. It is 30,000 to 40,000 a year as well as housing allowance.

As Mardi says these are professional teachers many have been on the International circuit many years. Also the schools are top notch not some fly by night, these schools have accreditation from state side and UK agencies.

The masters can be in some other field, my friend in Yangon recieved her masters in Information Tech. This is what she teaches in Yangon. She already had a teaching certificate from the US when she applied for the job.

Hiring for North American teachers takes place after the first of the year there are 2 or 3 job fairs in the US and Canada.
You submit a resume and application form thru a agency and they will submit your paper work to the schools of your choice. You will be invited for interviews at the job fair by the schools who are interested in you and your qualifications. This process can be used by the first time applicant and someone wanting to change countries.

Nhs, I will check with my friend Joe if it is ok to pass along his email to you. He maybe able to give you the name of someone at his school for you to talk to.

No Korea is not Thailand but these people will not take a job unless the pay and benefits are comparable. The people I have met who teach at these better schools, money number 1, and they are well compensated.

[ShockToe]

Finding an apartment can be fairly easy once you've narrowed the search down to a specific neighborhood. You and your GF should just hire two motorbike taxis for half a day and have them drive you around to all the nearby apartment complexes. They know where they all are as they transport hundreds of people every day.

Regarding teaching in Bangkok, the OP (based on the stated credentials and experience) could earn 65,000 - 75,000 THB per month teaching specialized classes (19 - 22 class hours/week: math, science) in English-only programs at private schools. Mid-semester break is coming up at the very end of Sep/begining Oct so a potential time to get hired. Otherwise you might have to fill in here and there until the new year starts in May, although teachers get fired/quit all the time.

[stogie bear]

Once you have secured a job find a teacher that works there and ask him where he lives! If his place isn't for you then he's bound to know someone or somewhere that is.

Things have improved for teachers over the last few years but don't expect to walk into these 70K a month jonbs. They are available if you are very well qualified and look the part.

As for hours... be sure that the amount of hours you work is clear. Some class periods are 40 minutes and some are 50 and some are an hour! There are a very few 'professional teachers' working in Thailand. And they are all confined to the exclusive private companies with the rich kids as customers.

This is NOT Korea or Japan where the regulation and enforcement of academic standards is controlled, upheld and made accountable.

Most full time jobs here still only pay between 30,000 and 40,000 Baht a month in Bangkok. Less if you move out of town. It's not easy to live comfortably on this especially with a family.

An "Academic Manager" or "Director of Studies" will get more but basically this job means you do your teaching and fill in for the drunks and no-shows... this position is worse than being a teacher! You are on call all the time and catch shit from the other teachers, the managers and the parents! Who really needs that when you come to Thailand for a better life?

If you can teach English, math and science then you can maybe earn between 35,000 Baht and 45,000 Baht a month. But of course the more subjects you teach the more hours you work!

Most of us started off working at 'farms!' These are language schools that 'train you up' and send you all over the city to schools to teach a couple of periods and then to some place else for an hour or two then it's back to the farmhouse for a 2 hour evening class... This means that you can be working about 6 hours in a day starting at 7 in the morning and finishing at 9 at night! If you are getting paid by the hour that's a long day!

http://www.teflasia.com/ajarn/browse_jobs/index.html

Click the above link and then count how many well paid jobs there are...

And the figures quoted are probably bullshit too. How much withholding is there... will you get paid during the holidays? Who pays for your teachers license and visas and work permit?

If a bonus is offered you almost certainly won't get it and they won't renew your contract if you make a fuss... It's easier to hire a 'flipper' (Philippino) who will work for a lot less and be damn grateful too!

Some places traditionally pay more for good teachers but they don't last long. Impossible demands on their free time, the indignity and degradation from the Thai principal, the awful facilities, the stress, the erm... 'mistakes' with the deductions from your pay...

Basically folks keep your eyes open... The business of education in Thailand is an unregulated scam...

[ShockToe]

(orgasmaddict @ Aug. 13 2007,01:23)

Also a friend works at the American International School in Yangong she went from 35,000 a year to over 40,000 when she got her masters degree.

So you can expect to earn a bit more money if you have a masters? or is this just in Korea?

Does the MA have to be in teaching?

I can only speak for full programs taught in English at private schools...you do get a modest bump, ~ 5% with an MA/MS. My school pays +20% if either degree is in a related field to that being taught.

A new teacher, with some modest classroom experience, was hired a few weeks ago (replacing a teacher who couldn't handle it) at my school for 65,000 THB per month (19 - 50. min periods per week), teaching jr. high (7/8/9 grades: M1/M2/M3) science so yes the OP, based on his stated credentials and experience (math, science, etc.) could walk into a decent job. Pay figures are exclusive of bonuses or hold-backs.

Bring as much original documentation (diplomas, transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc.) as you can, and scan all these documents so that you can print them. Originals need to be produced to support Work Permit and Teacher License credentials, but are returned to you. Create a resume/CV (one page with your picture), and then put together packages (resume and all supporting docs) to hand out during interviews. Just a little effort marketing yourself can elevate your profile, candidacy and renumeration not unlike our LB friends do with their photo shoots.

You should target specific schools, say 6 ~ 10 or so, and then try to make some contacts at those schools

[stogie bear]

Originals need to be produced to support Work Permit and Teacher License credentials, but are returned to you.

Things have changed and like you say... originals now need to be produced.

You'd probably get a job here on the strength of copies, an employer would wish to retain a copy, not as some way of forcing you to see out the contract, but because they keep copies of all documentation of all teachers. They annually produce a portfolio of teachers, including documentary evidence of qualifications, for any parent's perusal - nothing serious, just something to impress the feepayers a bit.

However, should you require a work permit and/or teacher's license the school admin people need original documents - copies are not accepted by the MOE, MOL or immigration - it's as simple as that. So you may be required to give up ownership of your documents while thr process of legalising you takes place. If this is the case then you had better make sure that you love the school and that they love you!

There are many unscrupulous employers here in Thailand and you need to do what you feel comfortable with. However, if you are to apply for a WP and TL you will need to provide the original certificates/transcripts and you will need to let them out of your grasp while the paperwork is completed!

It used to be that certified copies (or the Thai equivilent was enough.) I dread to think of the myriad of ways they can lose your docs once they have them. I believe that copies are fine when it comes to renewal time...

[Guest]

[quote=ShockToe,Aug. 14 2007,19:07][quote=orgasmaddict,Aug. 13 2007,01:23]

Originals need to be produced to support Work Permit and Teacher License credentials, but are returned to you.

HI,
You're the only one that has said that the originals would be returned....haha. Everyone else has said if I give them the originals....they will be lost FOREVER.....but I understand fully what you mean and thanks for the input, it wonderful. Another thing that someone told me yesterday was......dye the gray hair I have, school officials shy away from gray hair, even if it's premature as it is on me. I think it's either premature or it's from my second ex-wife....haha. Either way, they said dye it before I apply for the jobs, it would make a world of difference.

I personally have enough experience (7 years) with junior and senior high and considering I have worked with severe behavioral students, I'm ok with going into a regular classroom. But to be honest with you....when you're used to dealing with 6 or 8 kids that have severe behavior issues on a daily basis, I have mixed feelings about going into a standard classroom where there maybe be 30 or 40 kids versus the 6 or 8 pissed off at society kids. Could be good or bad.....time will tell I guess.

I have also had experience with kindergarten kids too so that would be an option too. I have a friend in Phuket that has told me that kindergarten teachers make decent money in Thailand and some schools LOVE having a man in a kindergarten classroom too. Kind of a status type of thing.....a "see who we have working for us now?" type of thing. I don't mind being put on display as long as they're paying me to be put on display.

Again, thanks for the input and once I get settled in BKK on September 24th, the job hunt will begin.

Nhscotsman

[Guest]

(stogie bear @ Aug. 14 2007,19:52)

Originals need to be produced to support Work Permit and Teacher License credentials, but are returned to you.

Also,
I'm bringing original unopened transcripts and my actual diplomas for them to see.

Someone messaged me and said I needed a criminal background check and I did call the Thai Consulate General in Boston, Massachusetts yesterday and checked to see if I needed a criminal background check for the work visa and they said no, so I'm all set there. The girl said the only time I would need it would be for a retirement visa.

Nhscotsman

[stogie bear]

Teaching Kindergarden sure makes the day go quickly! I used to do this from 9 till noon each day for 300 Baht an hour! (Yeah - I'm a cheapo!) It was the fastest 3 hours of my life!

I've done it but usually schools prefer the ladies for this kind of teaching and ladies can get better money than men too.

Yes - dye that hair... Thailand is all about style over substance. Good idea - I'd never thought of that before.

Some schools will run a criminal background check on you especially on teachers being hired from abroad. But it's not a legal requirement to have one at this monet in time.

[Guest]

(stogie bear @ Aug. 14 2007,20:16) Teaching Kindergarden sure makes the day go quickly! I used to do this from 9 till noon each day for 300 Baht an hour! (Yeah - I'm a cheapo!) It was the fastest 3 hours of my life!

I've done it but usually schools prefer the ladies for this kind of teaching and ladies can get better money than men too.

Yes - dye that hair... Thailand is all about style over substance. Good idea - I'd never thought of that before.

Some schools will run a criminal background check on you especially on teachers being hired from abroad. But it's not a legal requirement to have one at this monet in time.

I know what you mean about kindergarden kids....they are hard duty....haha But I have so much fun with them so it really isn't work when I have done classes with them. When you said you got 300 baht an hour, if you like doing it, then it's not really an issue of whether your a cheapo or not. Like you said too, the times flies by too.

The hair thing did catch my attention. I am 90% gray, granted it's a good gray but gray just the same, PLUS, my moustache has gray in it too. So people said to get a nice brown dye and to either dye the moustache too or chop it off. I have heard mixed things about Farangs having moustaches. Some like it and some don't, kids for the most part love it because it's different.

I'm curious SB, you and I seem to have similar thoughts on this subject, are you close in age to my 47?

Have a good day and I'm at the point now that I'm counting the days till I walk off the plane in BKK for one last time. I'm so thrilled about seeing Thailand and my GF again I don't even function at a normal level anymore...haha.

Nhscotsman

[stogie bear]

I'll be 47 in about 2 weeks...

[moe666]

NHS, did you get that email.

[Guest]

(stogie bear @ Aug. 14 2007,23:32) I'll be 47 in about 2 weeks...

See, and I thought you were older than me....hahaha

I have you in age by almost 6 months....haha. I turned 47 last March. So maybe we think similar because of the closeness in age.

Nhscotsman